Brian Barrett

The first rule of Brooklyn's notorious Brower Boys gang is: You don't talk about the Brower Boys gang. The second is: Unless it's on Facebook, then it's totally fine. Oh, but maybe accept a cop's friend request before you do?

This is Michael Baker. Michael is 20 years old, lives in Kentucky, and likes The Bucket List on…
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The Brower Boys, a gaggle of wayward youths who committed everything from burglary to sexual assault, had made Brooklyn's Crown Heights their stomping ground for the last year. And, as teenagers so often do, they bragged about their exploits on Facebook. Bragged here meaning "posted video of," and exploits being "robbing the hell out of people."

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None of which would have gotten them in trouble, necessarily, had they bothered to form a Brower Boys Group (or maybe Google+ circle?) for limited sharing. Or if they hadn't accepted the friend request of NYPD officer Michael Rodriguez. Who needs an informant when you've got a newsfeed?

The video and other incriminating Facebook updates helped the cops make 14 arrests in all, and a whopping 102-count indictment. We'll say this one more time: Be careful with your Facebook profile. Or better yet, if you're a dumb criminal, don't.